The Mask Maker
by XShatterMeX
Summary: No Face (Uta) x Glitch (OC named Sasikiko) Sasikiko hides depression from Uta, Tsukiyama wants the two to have a child, Touka talks in her sleep.
1. At the Start of the Maze

" ** _Are you insane like me?  
Been in pain like me?  
Bought a hundred dollar bottle of champagne like me?  
Just to pour that mother f***** down the drain like me..._**

 _ **Lightin' matches just to swallow up the flame like me...**_  
 _ **Do you call yourself a f****** hurricane like me?**_  
 _ **Pointin' fingers 'cause you'll never take the blame like me..."**_

 ** _-Halsey, Gasoline_**

Sasikiko waited by the door, a snow leopard by her side. The door opened and Uta stepped in. He carried with him a fresh jar of assorted human organs and eyeballs. Every month, he would smuggle enough food for the two of them. Sasikiko had lived with Uta ever since she was 10. He was 12 at the time and wanted to take her in because they were both ghouls and both alone. Now he was 20 and she was 18. They were best friends and never saw each other as siblings.

"Uta!"

Sasikiko threw her arms around him and buried her face in his hair.

"I was only gone for 23 minutes!"

Uta sighed playfully.

"23 minutes too long! I was worried you were attacked, you were 10 minutes late!"

She complained. He pretended to shove her off and playfully rolled his eyes.

"I got more food this time!"

He responded.

"How's my little Kuraudo?"

He knelt down and asked the snow leopard.

"Oh, sure, greet the snow leopard before me!"

Sasikiko playfully complained.

"Well, _sorry,_ jealous."

Uta joked, smiling. He stood up and hugged her. He wrapped his fingers with her magenta hair and ran his fingers down to the part where it faded from hot pink to light pink and rested his hand on her back, the other hand on her shoulder. She blushed madly, thankful he couldn't see her blush with the contrast of the light. He stroked the bottom of her hair, the only part she ever curled. This caused her to blush even more, and she was certainly not thankful that Kuraudo's long tail had flicked the part of the switch that turned the light from pink to a natural artificial light color. Uta, noticing her blush, laughed.

"No need to be embarrassed, Sassy."

She grinned upon hearing her nickname, thankful Uta, with his calm voice, could be comforting in any situation. He was the type of guy who looked like a punk that you'd avoid, but when you got to know him, he was the calmest person ever. He was normally expressionless, but with Sasikiko, he showed his playful, funny side. She liked that.

Sasikiko was designing another mask, this one for herself. She carefully etched a grin for the mouth and a long wolf's snout.

"Boo."

Uta said in a normal tone, coming up from behind her.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

Sasikiko screamed, instinctively activating her kagune and flinging the pencil and journal across the room. Her kagune was special, never seen before. Different. It was one she never could activate around investigators or hunt with. The investigators would swarm her, they'd have every investigator kill her and examine her and take her kagune. Personally, Sasikiko wanted to fight, but Uta wouldn't let her. Uta stared at her kagune: It came from her shoulders, back and lower back, and one leg. The two tentacles coming from her shoulders circled around both arms, like Tsukiyama's, but doubled to have one more. The kagune coming from her leg circled around her left leg like Nishiki's. The four on her back were like Kaneki's. Overall, her kagune was purple that faded to blue. Uta smiled and reached out to touch her shoulder.

"It's just me."

He stated calmly. Sasikiko loved his calm voice and his soft touch. She smiled inside and her kagune slipped back, retracting hesitantly. It was like a cat sheathing it's claws. Sasikiko sighed, looking off to the side.

"I wish I could control my kagune."

She murmured.

"It's too powerful for even the best of ghouls. You'll learn, though."

Uta comforted her. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Uta slipped his hand behind her back and forced her to sit down next to him. He moved his hand to curl it around her neck. This was a long discussed subject. "I want to fight." She stated.

"L-."

He nearly called her love.

"Sassy, you can't. I care about you. I can't have you die. And a less important reason, if they had your kagune, they'd kill us all."

Uta stated calmly, worry etched on his face. Sasikiko sighed.

"Maybe you're right." She sighed.

"You know I am."

Uta responded, smirking playfully.

Sasikiko watched as Uta designed her mask. He was adding detail and color, the small things that made her mask different from every other. Most had just some color. Her being nicknamed Glitch, her mask looked like a glitch. It had a special material that made it show different images when she moved. If she was still, it was a black wolf. Move slightly and it had a smile. A bit more, the smile began to glitch. More, even, and the colors turned from black to hot pink and orange with green spots within a second. Move even more and black lines appeared and the smile glitched way more. Sasikiko loved it, the mask was perfect. Uta worked without expression. Sasikiko sat next to him, watching, waiting.

After a few days, the mask was ready. Sasikiko loved it. The mask was just as Uta had described. She was only to use it if she had to. As she was sitting with Uta, Tsukiyama walked in. Uta was laughing, choking and coughing as well.

"Arragjieraaaa"

Uta tried to say Tsukiyama while he coughed, laughed, and choked. Sasikiko burst out laughing. The provinence of this situation went back far, and it started with Tsukiyama. He had coughed while sneezing and trying to say Uta, and it sounded hideous. After a while, it was Sasikiko, then Kaneki, then Touka, then Banjou, and finally, now it was Uta. Tsukiyama saw it as revenge, for Uta had laughed when it happened to Tsukiyama, and he'd never let Tsukiyama let it go. This time Tsukiyama was the one laughing. Uta coughed repeatedly, straining for air, clearly choking. The grin on Tsukiyama's face changed to horror that matched Sasikiko's as Uta was clearly choking. Hesitantly did Sasikiko activate her kagune and hit Uta in the chest. Immediately Uta stopped coughing and was able to breath. Sasikiko smirked inwardly as Tsukiyama's eyes widened upon seeing her kagune for the first time.

"The investigators would be all over you for that. Be careful."

Tsukiyama warned.

"S-see Sasikiko? Even Ts-sukiyama says you should be careful."

Uta stuttered, coughing.

"So, Uta, that was payback in a way for laughing at me when it happened to me."

Tsukiyama stated slyly. Uta smiled.

"Give me a while before you tease me, my throat feels like someone just stabbed it."

Uta said calmly. Sasikiko slipped an arm behind his neck and rested the other on his right shoulder. She held Uta's neck as if to choke him. She pressed her fingers against his skin and tightened her hold. Uta could barely breath, but it didn't hurt as much now. Tsukiyama felt awkward there, but he stayed. Sasikiko looked up at him.

"You're here because?"

She asked calmly.

"I was going to ask if you two would have a child."

Tsukiyama stated slowly. Uta coughed __suddenly and Sasikiko stared at him. Tsukiyama was serious.

"Why us?"

She asked, almost traumatized.

"I heard from Touka your kagune was extraordinary."

Tsukiyama redponded, staring at Sasikiko. Sasikiko cursed under her breath. Touka and Tsukiyama had shared a room the day Touka became one of the few to have seen Sasikiko's kagune. Touka talked in her sleep.

"Tsukiyama, did you hear that when Touka was talking in her sleep?"

Sasikiko asked.

"Well, yes, mm, but I see it's true!"

Tsukiyama rushed.

"Impossible, me and Uta will never have a child this young!"

Sasikiko threw back.

"Besides, if you're asking for us to have a child for my kagune and that only, you can leave."

Sasikiko's voice cracked. Tsukiyama was her best friend, but sometimes she wished he'd think before he said things. Tsukiyama, understanding it took all her power to say that and that Sasikiko didn't mean it, he looked at Uta. He signed to her "She needs time alone". Tsukiyama understood the sign language and signed back "With you, correct?". Uta playfully rolled his eyes. Tsukiyama stared at Sasikiko one last time before he left, a silent agreement that they were still best friends boring through Sasikiko's eyes. Tsukiyama walked out sadly. Uta turned to Sasikiko.

"I wish he'd think before he offends me!"

She spat.

"I don't want any child to have to deal with not being able to control their kagune."

Sasikiko stated, her voice cracking and tears falling fast. Uta was concerned, Sasikiko never cried more than the tears that filled her eyes. Now he understood why she was getting weaker: She was hiding her depression from him. He slipped a hand under her knee and the other under her neck and carried her to the couch. She shifted and rested her head on his right shoulder, her left hand on his left shoulder.

"You've never told me you were depressed before."

Uta said, sounding wounded. Sasikiko sobbed in response.

"I thought you might think I'm weak."

She admitted. Uta was astonished and hurt that she'd think of him that way. _She'd hide depression from me because she thinks I'd think she's weak?_ Uta thought. He pulled her closer and rested his chin on her head and Sasikiko relaxed into him.

 _ **This took a long time! Along with Peace is the Same as War, I will be doing this fanfic, but all my others are on hold.**_


	2. Stab through the Chest

Uta shoved Sasikiko awake.

"Hmm?"

Sasikiko murmured sleepily. Uta stared at her expressionlessly.

"It's time to wake up, I want to talk."

He told her. _"I want to talk?" My mother used to say that and it was never pretty._ Sasikiko thought hesitantly.

"Why did you never tell me you were depressed? You normally share everything with me. Even when we were younger and went to school, you told me the about the kids who were being rude to you and I fought them. Come on, they left you alone. Why couldn't I help you?"

Uta asked, looking wounded.

"That's the thing, Uta, we aren't kids anymore. Your huge fight with Lucas isn't the same as this."

Sasikiko responded, clearly irritated. Uta's eyes filled with tears for the first time in years.

"Why don't you want my help? I could have helped you."

Uta asked, his voice normal but cracking slightly. Saikiko sighed in an irritated way.

"Look, just back off, Uta! I'm fine without your help. I'm older now. I don't need you always helping me."

Sasikiko snapped. Instantly, she regretted it. What she had said was just a thought she'd had for a second, and after that it was just a regret.  
And words.  
It was a regret and words.

"If you don't need me "always helping you" then I don't need you either. If you don't need me, that's fine."

Uta snapped. Instantly, he regretted it. What he had said was just a thought he'd had for a second, and after that, it was just a regret.  
And words.  
It was a regret and words.  
Two regrets and a few words for both of them.

"Fine then, I may as well leave."

And so, Sasikiko left.

 _ **2 Days Later  
**_ Sasikiko regretted everything. She wished she hadn't left Uta. She stayed by where Uta got his food because she'd ended up there and didn't know where else to go, hoping he'd find her.  
And he did.  
She saw him, stumbling to where she was. His head was down, his clothes were torn, he looked sad, and his hair was not as neat as normal. He walked over, not noticing Sasikiko.

"Uta, please let me come back!"

Sasikiko pleaded, running up to him and flinging her arms around him. Uta looked up, their faces close. He looked hesitant, but after a second he hugged Sasikiko back.

"I lost my way and ended up here. I waited for you."

Sasikiko mumbled, looking up at Uta.

"I haven't slept. I've been wishing I had never let you leave."

Uta whispered. He led her back home, to the only real home she had.

Sasikiko was glad to be back home.

"Why did you wait? You could've gotten sick or injured or died. If you had gone to Anteiku, Kaneki and Touka would help you."

Uta said with a normal expression on his face.

"I knew you had to get food soon, it's your special day. You always get food for us to have a nice meal on Fridays. Plus, I got lost."

Sasikiko stated with a shrug. Uta sat down on the couch and rested his arm around her neck, their faces dangerously close. Both ghouls stared at each other. Sasikiko moved in closer. So did Uta. Sasikiko-

"Haha, look, an empty mask shop. Probably a ghoul or two hiding in here."

They both froze.

"I bet you they'll be too scared to fight. Even if it is just the two of us."

Sasikiko growled like an animal.

"We'll have to kill them."

Uta whispered. Sasikiko nodded and activated her kagune. She ran quietly to hide behind a plant and used one long tentacle on her shoulder to trip the first dove.

"Hey, what was that for?!"

He snapped.

"I didn't do anything!"

The other answered. Sasikiko dashed in front of them and trapped them with her kagune, using all of them to make a small enclosure, almost like the kagune of Hinami's mother. Uta dashed in just as she closed it and threw a knife straight through both of their hearts, Sasikiko lifting her kagune out of the way so the knife wouldn't hit it. The doves fell to the ground, dead.

"Nice work, Uta. That was a good clear shot. Only one knife, I see?"

Sasikiko asked in a bit of a daze. Uta noticed she looked different but he ignored it.

"Correct."

He responded.  
That was the last thing Sasikiko heard before a third investigator who had been hiding stabbed her with the stolen kagune of her own mother. She turned, spitting, and recognized her mother's kagune as it withrew from her chest.

"Sasikiko, please wake up!"

Uta's voice pleaded.

"C'mon Sasikiko, you've got more than that in you."

Sasikiko heard Nishiki's voice.

"C'mon you two, she won't wake up if you plead."

Touka's voice sounded from her right.

"Pleeeeease wake up Sasikiko!"

Hinami sounded like she was beside Touka, unless Touka had just sucked helium from a balloon, which she had certainly done before.

"Sasikiko, you must wake up! It would truly horrify me if you died and I never got to say goodbye!"

Sasikiko instantly knew it was Tsukiyama. Regret crashed through her. She tried to say something or open her eyes, but she couldn't. She didn't have the strength. If she died and the last thing she said to Tsukiyama was to get out, she'd regret so much...  
And then she didn't hear a thing.

Sasikiko opened her eyes in the slightest. She was in Uta's mask shop, home, in bed. Light spilled through a slightly open window. She opened her eyes just a bit more and she could see everyone there, sitting with their back to her, heads down. Nishiki, Hinami, Touka, Kaneki, Tsukiyama, Yoshimura, Kaya, and...Wait, Uta wasn't there? She waited for hours, looking up at the clock every few minutes. It had been 6 and a half hours and Uta wasn't there yet. She sighed.

"It's getting late, I should go."

Kaya said, getting up. Everyone followed reluctantly until it was just her and Nishiki.

"C'mon Sasikiko, don't give up on Uta. He's can't even look at you, he's just too sad. Don't be like Kimi, I lost her just yesterday." _**(Author's Note: Kimi is only dead in this fanfic, not in the anime)  
**_  
Nishiki stated, his head still down.

"Uta should be here. He's a selfish b*stard, but he's a good friend."

He admitted. Sasikiko could practically hear him scowling.

"Nishiki...Why won't he come o-over here?"

She asked, her throat hurting. Nishiki jumped and turned to look at Sasikiko.

"You're awake!"

He cried, running towards her to hug her. It wasn't like Nishiki to hug anyone, but they were closer than her and Tsukiyama, so she'd imagine he'd be more caring.

"Listen, he...The real reason he's not here is because he's making another mask. I'm sorry."

Nishiki sounded and looked sad. Sasikiko was instantly disappointed. She looked down with a sigh and put her head back down, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Look, I'll stay with you. I'm really sorry that he chose to work on the mask over being here, and I know staying with you isn't really a good trade."

Nishiki amitted, looking down. Sasikiko simply nodded. And so, he sat in a chair, talking with her, keeping her company, trying to take her mind off of Uta, until dawn. She finally let herself fall asleep after he left, seeing as she wanted Nishiki to talk to her. She waited for 5 days, but each night, Nishiki substituted for Uta. Finally, one night, Uta came in to see her. He sat by her.

"I'm sorry, Sasikiko, but I was working on a mask I was going to sell."

He admitted.

"Thank you for coming to see me."

Sasikiko said, smiling. Uta leaned in closer to the point where she felt his breath on the skin of her lips.  
She moved away.

"But I've stayed up all night for 5 days with Nishiki instead of you while you were working on a _mask,_ so I'm a bit tired."

Sasikiko snapped. She sighed and closed her eyes.


	3. Control

_**"I'll believe...  
**_ ** _It aaaaaall I won't let go of your hand."  
Two birds on a wire  
One says "C'mon!" and the other says "I'm tired."_**

 _ **-Regina Spektor, Two Birds**_

Uta sat with Sasikiko on the couch. She could feel the pain in her chest from the wound and shifted so that her head was on Uta's shoulder. He smiled and didn't move. They just sat there in silence, staring at each other.

"Boo."

Uta said in a normal tone.

"AHHH!"

Sasikiko screamed, jumping off the couch and sliding across the hardwood floor, landing in an ironman like pose. Both hands were on the ground and one was further up than the other. That was the only difference. Uta looked impressed.

"Not bad."

He mused, getting up. Walking over to Sasikiko, he offered a hand to help her up. She hesitantly took his hand and got up.

"You controlled your kagune?"

Uta asked.

"I tried."

Sasikiko sighed. Uta looked amused.

"Look at your arm."

He commanded. Sasikiko looked down and was astonished to see her kagune was not active.

"I controlled it for once!"

Sasikiko exclaimed, looking happy.

"With some training, you'll have full control of it."

Uta stated in a normal tone.

Sasikiko stood in an open, empty room. She was told to stand there, and that they were setting up something.

"Boo."

Instantly, Sasikiko knew it was Uta without even thinking about it. She turned around calmly. Uta smiled and put a hand on her shoulder for a second as he walked away. When Uta's arm could no longer reach her shoulder, she was sad to feel his hand slip off. She turned around again.

"Boo."

Sasikiko knew it was Nishiki. She turned around calmly one more.

"Not bad, jerk."

Nishiki joked. Sasikiko smiled. He walked away, his fingertips brushing against Sasikiko's hand. She turned around, longing for the touch of his fingers.

"Boo."

The voice belonged to Tsukiyama. Sasikiko unknowingly activated her kagune. She turned around and her Rinkakus lashed out at Tsukiyama. He realized a second too late and Sasikiko had to knock him over to not tear his arm into two. Disappointed with herself, Sasikiko sighed and turned around.

"You did good, bel fiore."

Tsukiyama admitted. Sasikiko knew Italian and instantly realized he had called her beautiful flower. Sasikiko blushed as he walked away.

"Boo."

The child's voice was obvious. Hinami. However, when Sasikiko activated her kagune without knowing she turned aaround quickly to see Touka. Sasikiko lashed out at Touka. Touka, being one of the few to be quick enough, dodged the attack. Plus, she'd seen Tsukiyama's fail, and so she knew an attack might be coming.

"Hey, nice try."

Touka comforted before walking away. Her voice still sounded like she had inhaled helium. Sasikiko turned around.

"Boo."

The voice belonged to Kaya. Sasikiko turned quickly, activating her kagune. Her kakaku lashed out at Kaya, but because Kaya didn't see the attack coming, Sasikiko had to knock her over. Sasikiko helped Kaya up and turned around.

"Impressive kagune."

Kaya complemented. Sasikiko smiled.

"Boo."

The last voice, or so Sasikiko assumed, was Kaneki's. She instinctively turned around and tried to hit him with her kagune, but he dodged. Sasikiko sighed and turned around.

"Hey, you did good today. You didn't attack 2 people."

Kaneki told her.

"Follow me."

He said. Sasikiko followed. He led her through that all white room to the door, which was black. Everyone who had surprised her sat in a circle. Two chairs were empty. Sasikiko took a seat in between Nishiki and Uta. Kaneki sat in between Touka and Kaya.

"Well, I think we've determined you trust Uta and I the most."

Nishiki said to Sasikiko, pushing his glasses up with one finger. Sasikiko was puzzled.

"We all said the same thing, but you reacted differently to me and Uta even though we were first. I was surprised when you didn't attack Uta and even more so when you didn't attack me."

Nishiki explained, never once looking at Sasikiko.

"Nevertheless, bel fiore, you controlled your kagune for the most part." Tsukiyama said. Nishiki and Uta, both having known Italian, glared at him. Nishiki placed a hand on Sasikiko's shoulder. Uta stared at Nishiki, the slightest hint of anger in his eyes. Uta rested his arm around her neck. Nishiki glared at Uta. Sasikiko noticed this and smiled inwardly.


	4. TMM Update

_**Hi guys! It's Shatter Me here. I will be letting CyberAmber12 (Well, too lazy to look up her actual user, so that's probably close) take over this fanfic. She is my closest friend, I know her in real life, and I've known her for...What, almost 3 years? I'll get her to calculate that for me. I trust her completely with this fanfic and will still be editing parts of the story and laying down ground rules and guidelines for her to follow so that this story will still be just as I planned. I will be taking over on the last chapter, however. That chapter is all planned out.**_

So, why can't I continue, you may ask? It's kind of like a hiatus, except...Different. Here's the story: Cyber constantly talked about Anime and spoke Japanese. I dealt with it easily at first, it didn't bother me, but then I just found myself very annoyed at the fact she constantly talked about everything Japanese and felt myself slip further and further away from the anime-lover I was. That's why I made the decision that no matter how obsessed I am with something, I'm not going to tell anyone. My fatal flaws are jealousy, wanting to be the odd one out (Most times), defiance, and falling in love easily, which is for another rant...These can be some of the hardest flaws to have. Let's talk about the first 3.

Jealousy: I felt jealous that someone knows more about something than I do and am not willing to say that I don't know the fact someone just told me. Although I know most of the facts I'm told, I hate it when I have to lie about knowing something when I really don't.

Wanting to be the Odd one out: This is tough to deal with. I want to talk about my hobbies with people, but then when they love and adore the same thing, it just...It doesn't feel special. From now on, I want almost all of my hobbies to be shared with no one. I want them to be my little secret. Favorite songs? Not sharing. Favorite bands? Not sharing. Favorite movies, books, or TV shows? Also not sharing. I just want all my hobbies to be special. When someone else knows about it and knows facts about it and, for instance, knows more animes than I do, I felt overwhelmed, like I have to be better and find something better, and also like the other person in question is bragging. Another problem with this is that I just like to be different. I want to dye my hair, I want to draw different things, ship different people, win a different way, and so on. When Cyber told me she started watching Vocaloid, I immediately wouldn't let myself watch it. My rule is if I didn't discover it first, I don't want to watch it.

Defiance: With an unwillingness to do what people say, I find it very hard to do as people say if they don't say it nicely or are pushing me to do something I don't want to do. I want to do everything in my own way and add my own style to it. However, defiance in this case doesn't really matter.

This is to Cyber: That would be the explanation as to why I'm not into Anime and am annoyed when you speak Japanese or even talk about it. I just need my own thing...My own hobbies. It's not that I find you annoying, it's that I just don't like my old hobby anymore and I personally find it annoying, not you. I trust you completely with this story and know you won't disappoint me. Also, I know we've had a few issues over my defiance, jealousy, and need to be the odd one out. You're a very close friend, but I'd just like you to know that I get irritated easily. Also, I feel like if someone enjoys something and suggests it to me that I can't be equal to them and embarrassed if I do end up liking the suggestion because of my unwillingness to try it or the fact I didn't find it first. Also, I keep all my hobbies and favorite songs close to me now because I worry someone will know more about them than me, which triggers jealousy. Also, I warn you, don't annoy me. I'm not the lenient, easygoing person I used to be. I'm different now. Not as forgiving. I will forgive, although reluctantly, but it's hard for me to forget. I'm sorry if I offend you or have offended you. I can be quite rude. I'm publicly apologizing for this because I'm better at talking than typing. Also, about me not liking Star Wars, it's mainly because I'm sort of jealous/embarrassed that you tried it first, so I refused to ever try it. I know we did have a small argument over that, and I'm sorry. I know you probably won't forgive me or anything, I can be a jerk, and you probably won't lessen my problem or anything, because to be honest, I don't think I have a friend that would say:  
"You don't have to be embarrassed over me finding it first!"  
Sorry if you find this offensive, but I'm a reluctant person. I'm sorry for arguments we've had and times I've offended you. I'm a bit headstrong and proud. I blame it on being a near-Scorpio and being Italian-American-German-Irish. (I'm mainly Italian-American). Sorry for ever offending you or starting arguments. I felt it was time for me to address this problem, but there's no weight off my chest yet. I don't expect an apology or anything like that, I don't expect comfort, I just expect you to read this. That's all I want from you. Whether or not you forgive me is completely up to you.


	5. Shatter's Author's Note

_**Author's Note from Shatter:  
**_ _I never asked for an apology. Only an acknowledgment. So much work to hold us steady, and what do I get? Nothing. Not even an "I read it."  
_ Acknowledge.  
Unsteady.  
Shaking.  
Soon breaking.  
Acknowledge.  
Helped, but not acknowledged when needed.  
A great trust.  
Cracked a bit.  
But holding steady.  
I'm not angry.  
I'm just...Disappointed.  
That's the word.


End file.
